Nate Silver Leaves The Times for ESPN: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Nathaniel Silver, an American statistician, sabermetrician, psephologist and writer, recently made a dramatic switch from working for The New York Times to ESPN. Find out why and how it affected the Times below!

1. He ‘Didn’t Fit in’ at The Times

(Twitter)

And, because of it — according to Politico, some were “gratified by his departure.” The source claims Silver didn’t “fit in” at the Times, and many of his co-workers were not a fan of his work. In addition, the source claims, his concentration on sports instead of politics or entertainment was looked down upon by many.

2. He Moved to ESPN

The switch is official! And, we have a good feeling Silver’s talents will make him a better fit for ESPN than he was at the Times!

4. His Political Analysis Site ‘538’ Will Move With Him

Previously owned by The Times, “538” will now be adopted by ESPN. And, according to Silver the new model for the site will have an “independent editorial point-of-view,” a broad focus — and, essentially more sports than it had before.

5. Nate Says He’ll Miss the ‘Amazing’ People at the Times

Additionally, Silver posted this on Twitter yesterday to thank his former colleagues and to give a shout out to Jill Abramson of the New York Times!

There are lots of amazing people in the NYT newsroom. I will miss them. I greatly admire the job that Jill Abramson is doing.

While Silver may miss the comfort of the Times, ESPN prexy John Skipper has only good things to say about him:

Nate is one of the country’s brightest talents and his insight, journalistic integrity and creativity — all traits essential for creating compelling, quality content — have awed and entertained diverse audiences.

He adds:

Nate brings a unique fan base to ESPN, where he will curate a cross-platform, cross-discipline experience with a fresh take on the intersection of sports, culture, technology, economics and politics that will be provocative and completely different than anything else in the marketplace today.